city lit and gaza demo

From the UCU London Retired Members branch View this email in your browser

Defend the City Lit Protect the educational character of the City Lit and make NO compulsory redundancies Cuts on Adult Education mean 73 jobs to go, but the cuts seem especially to target Disabled and Working Class Students; the Dept for Deaf Students and Fresh Horizons, the Department for Access are about to be massacred. The UCU and GMB branches are campaigning against these awful cuts. Sign the petition here... National Demonstration for Gaza Saturday 19th July, assemble at 12 noon outside Downing Street, London SW1, nearest tube Westminster. More details from here...

Copyright © 2014 UCU London Retired Members Branch, All rights reserved. UCU London Retired Members Branch - members and supporters Our mailing address is: UCU London Retired Members Branch 53 Fladgate Road Leytonstone, London E11 1LX United Kingdom

Arrangements for the CACCTU national conference to launch the new edition of the One Million Climate Jobs booklet

Conference details

Time and date: 12.00 - 5.30 pm Saturday 20 September

Please put the date in your diary and forward to interested parties.

Venue: Tower Building, London Metropolitan University, Holloway Road

This is directly across the road from Holloway Road tube station and accessible from all London terminuses.

Themes: Primary theme - the international fight for climate jobs

The conference is timed to coincide with the People's Climate March taking place that weekend in New York with support from American trade unions and involving British trade unionists. This is prior to the UN climate talks in NY from 23 September. The conference will involve international speakers and contributions via skype from the march organisers and British and American trade unionists on the march. We also aim to encourage climate jobs groups in other countries to hold their own meetings and conferences at this time which we can link up with.

Secondary theme - hope, not despair.

Conference title: "For a future that doesn't cost the earth".

Timetable:

12.00 - 1.00  Registration

1.00 - 2.30 Opening plenary: "The International Fight for Climate Jobs" - as described above with an additional contribution on the updated One Million Climate Jobs pamphlet.

2.30 - 2.45 Break

2.45 - 4.15 Workshops:

Two lead speakers per workshop with additional invited contributors in the audience.

a) "Unpacking Climate Jobs" - looks closely at specific climate jobs and how they can be created. Main focus on energy and transport.

b) "Building a Better Future by Campaigning for Climate Jobs" - reaches from examples of successful campaign initiatives to the broader social benefits of building for a sustainable future

c) "Students, Environment, and Climate jobs" - deals mostly with jobs for graduates but also allows discussion of the curriculum and increasing student involvement in the environmental movement.

4.15 - 4.45 Networking

4.45 - 5.30 Closing Plenary: "Time to Act on Climate Change" - speakers from the "Time to Act" campaign and the protest campaign for the Paris COP talks. Followed by Q & A.

Greens support the Public Sector strike in Brent and Central London

Thursday, 10 July 2014

(acknowledgements to Martin Francis http://www.wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/)

Muhuammed Butt, Brent Council Leader (Labour) with strikers

Shahrar Ali (Green party) with pickets

Dawn Butler with Stonebridge Primary School strikers

Dave Plummer (Green Party) in Trafalgar Square

Natalie Bennett (Green Party leader) with Martin Francis

Brent Green party sent the following message to strikers:

On behalf of the Green Party of England and Wales, we would like to express our solidarity 
with you in your struggle for decent, secure work and fair pay and working conditions. 

We believe that public sector workers provide excellent and vital service to our country, and 
that our public services represent a very significant part of the true wealth of this nation. 

The public sector in the UK has, for decades, been systematically attacked. Workers are 
bearing the brunt of this, and are being expected to pay the price for an economic crisis not 
of their making. 

We recognise that going on strike is the option of last resort, and that the decisions to do so 
have not been taken lightly. We sincerely hope that this co-ordinated action succeeds in 
defending your jobs, pay, and working conditions.

With very best wishes, 

Brent Green Party

FAQs about the strike tomorrow from Unison's point of view:

Some of you might like to use this FAQs about the strike from Unison's point of view:

From
Camden Unison:
 
·         I need a decent pay increase, but I
can't afford to strike, what can I do?
We
believe you can't afford not to strike. We have lost nearly 20% of the
value of our pay since 2010, and if we do not take a stand now we will continue
to see our pay eroded indefinitely. If you are in genuine financial need, the
UNISON branch has a hardship fund to which you can apply.
 
·         Does striking ever really achieve
anything?
Each time we have taken strike action in recent years we have won
far more than the days' pay we have lost: in 2008 we won an additional 0.35% pay
increase, and in 2011 we stopped a 50% increase in pension contributions. In
2013 our local indicative ballot for action, which got a large ‘yes’ vote,
secured improvements to the new contract. Even the one-day action in November
2011 over the pension scheme resulted in a better deal than the Government had
previously been willing to offer.
Historically,
strikes have won huge improvements for workers, including the weekend, much
shorter working days, holiday pay, sick pay, maternity pay, pensions and more.
Of course, they don’t always win, but strikes have achieved more for working
people than any other form of protest.
 
·         I don't want to look like a
troublemaker, could I get in trouble from taking strike action?
You
will not be alone. Thousands of workers in Camden and hundreds of thousands
across the country will be on strike. So we cannot all be victimised! Also as
we voted yes, it is expected that union members will follow the democratic
decision of their co-workers, so joining the action won't even mean you voted
for it necessarily. Finally, taking official strike action is legally
protected, and any punitive action taken against you for it is unlawful.
 
 
·         To be honest pay is not the biggest
issue for me, I'm more worried about job security
Aren't
we all? Job cuts are real concern for all of us; however it would be very
difficult to have a lawful national industrial action ballot around this issue
(or other issues like service closures). However, as has been demonstrated by
years of pay freezes and huge job cuts, pay freezes
do not save jobs. And the best way to deter further attacks on jobs,
conditions and services is by showing the employers (nationally as well as the
local council) that we are prepared to take action to defend ourselves. That
means delivering a solid vote for action.
 
·         I don't like striking, why can't the
union negotiate something better?
The
unions have been trying to negotiate pay rises since 2010. However, short of
any industrial action, they have been unsuccessful. If we want more than 1% we
will have to be prepared to take action.
  

Charlie Kiss

07808 932 618

020 7697 9640

Twitter @charliekiss

From UCU London Retired Members Branch: A Film and a Demonstration

From UCU London Retired Members Branch View this email in your browser

A Film and a Demonstration Film: 'Miners Shot Down' 6pm - 9.30pm Monday 14 July May Day Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH Map: http://maydayrooms.org/contact/ The Marikana Miners Solidarity Campaign (UK) are showing the film 'Miners Shot Down' followed by a discussion with film maker Rehad Desai, and a platinum mineworker who is a rank and file union organiser. July 10th Public Sector Strike and Demonstration The UCU London Retired Members will meet at 11:30 am at on the corner of Oxford Street and Argyll Street, by Oxford Circus tube station, short walk to the BBC at Portland Place where the demo starts. The march is scheduled to move off at 12 noon, so hopefully not too much standing around. If you need to make contact on the day, my mobile phone number is: 078757 91513

Copyright © 2014 UCU London Retired Members Branch, All rights reserved. UCU London Retired Members Branch - members and supporters Our mailing address is: UCU London Retired Members Branch 53 Fladgate Road Leytonstone, London E11

Green Party to march with unions in public sector strike on July 10th

8 July 2014

On July 10 the Green Party will stand alongside unions in the largest one-day strike over pay by public sector employees since 2010.

The Green Party have pledged to support the employees’ right to strike and to picket peacefully in order to assert their right to fair wages and proper treatment. Public sector employees are facing unprecedented financial hardship with part-time and female employees the most affected under the Government’s ideological austerity agenda. (1)

The strike will see more than one million workers protesting the Government policy of frozen and restricted pay and will include workers from the PCS, The National Union of Teachers, Unison, and others.

Thousands of people around the country are forgoing a day’s pay to express their unhappiness with the Coalition Government’s economic attack on public sector employees.

Greens across the country will show their support:

Green MP, Caroline Lucas said:

"It is very clear that austerity isn't working. It's cruel and counterproductive. It should not be the most vulnerable who are paying the price of an economic crisis that was not of their making. People are struggling, the cost of living is rising and it's time the Government recognised the value of workers who provide us with crucial services every day.

"People have had enough, it is time for plan B and it's time for the Government to listen. On July 10, people from all over the country will stand together to make their voices heard loud and clear."

Green Party leader, Natalie Bennett said:

 "This government's austerity agenda is making public sector employees, joined with benefit recipients, the increasing numbers of poorly paid, and insecure private sector employees, pay for the financial crisis that was not of their making.

“George Osborne is cutting the tax rate for multinational companies and inviting them to dodge even that reduced rate of taxes, and at the same time has slashed the real pay of the dinner ladies, the cleaners, and the local officers who keep our communities running. I'll be showing my support on Thursday by visiting picket lines around my local area of Camden before joining the march and rally in central London.

"We cannot continue to see soaring poverty and dependence on foodbanks in Britain; we need to make the minimum wage a living wage, and ensure local government employees have a chance of decent progression beyond that."

Green Party Trade Union Liaison Officer of GPEW national executive, Romayne Phoenix:

"The economic crisis was caused by the banks; how could it ever be fair - or effective - to fix it by cutting workers' pay? Our public services benefit the majority. This is about not letting those at the top blame the rest of us for problems we didn't cause."

Green MEP for South East, Keith Taylor:

“When the government decides to stop spending their time dismantling public services and oppressing the low paid and unemployed, and instead focusses on reigning in the power and wealth of the top 1%, then I'll have a shred of sympathy for them.

“Until then I am 100% behind the strikers and their efforts to defend our services, and seek decent terms and conditions for public sector workers.”

Kirklees Green Party Councillor, Andrew Cooper commented:

I'll be joining staff on the Picket line in Huddersfield. Kirklees Jobs and services for local people have suffered greatly due to Coalition targeting of local government for cuts.”

 Dudley Councillor and Deputy Leader, Will Duckworth said:

 “I will be on the picket lines early in the morning and then going on the planned demonstration in Birmingham with Dudley Trades Union Council.  We need to fight the Government's attempts to destroy decent pay and pensions for normal working people.”

 The Group of London Green Party Councillors said:

“It can’t go on like this. We can't continue with rapacious cuts to the NHS, the closure of local children's centres, and mounting queues at foodbanks. The government must hear the public's message that cuts are hurting the people of Britain. An alternative economic strategy and an alternative future is possible and together with communities up and down the country we will be out promoting that message on Thursday.”

North West Green Party Representative, Laura Bannister commented:

“In the North West, members will be visiting and taking part in picket lines and supporting the mass rally in Manchester. We are also sending letters of solidarity to regional TU branches on behalf of the regional party. “

Caroline Lucas & others support july 10th strikes

Caroline Lucas supporting public sector strikes on 10 july 2014
Click here to see the NUT's video
Click here to see Owen Jones' video
Click here to see Francesca Martinez's video
Click here to see Kate Smurthwaite's video